Why ELGL?
We’re back with the new “New Sensation” feature. We’ve updated the questions based on your feedback. You’ll now learn about the best YouTube videos on the web, read about gift ideas for the holiday season, and learn about the career accomplishments of our new members. As a reminder, we developed this feature to introduce you to new ELGL members and as a way on connecting ELGL members with similar interests.
Vitals
Charlotte Colley
New Albany (OH) Senior Projects Manager
Ohio City/County Management Association, Vice President
Education: Muskingum College, B.A., Political Science and Miami University, M.A., Political Science
Experience: Management Assistant, City of Dublin, OH, Management Analyst, Management Partners and Fair Housing Coordinator/Intern, City of Cambridge, Ohio
Connect: LinkedIn
Connect with OCMA: World Wide Web
Lightning Round
Connect with New Albany: Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, World Wide Web, and YouTube
Tell us about three of your biggest accomplishments.
- My family! My husband, Andrew, and our two boys, Ethan and Jeremiah. These guys are my world and give me the motivation to do what I do every day!
- Being voted in as the vice president of the Ohio City/County Manager’s Association. It’s an amazing opportunity! There are so many things I want to do to help others in the local government profession!
- Developing and managing a successful neighborhood grant program while with the City of Dublin, OH. It was a great experience and I loved working with the staff and community members who made the program so successful!
(Complete this sentence) I feel old when I……..we get invited to go out but things don’t get started until 9:00pm, an hour before we typically go to bed!
Tell us about two mistakes that you’ve made that we can learn from.
- Not taking the time to fully understand and prepare for an important assignment. Not a good outcome but definitely a good lesson.
- Letting a bad situation with a supervisor linger, rather than addressing it right away. When you have a problem don’t ignore it and don’t complain about it, especially if you aren’t willing to deal with it.
Give us three of your favorite YouTube videos.
An Open Letter to Moms from Kid President
As part of being an ELGL member, we give you a chance to redo or change any part of your life. How would you use it? (Note: My life is perfect, I am perfect, I would never change anything is not an acceptable response.)
I would apply myself more during my time as an undergraduate (academically and with sports – I ran track and cross country). I also spent too much time playing around and getting into things I shouldn’t have.
Our annual conference will be held in October 2014. Name three topics or speakers that should be included on the conference agenda.
Informal Leadership (how to do it well)
Management Skills (specifically soft skills/people skills)
(Complete these phrases) Best thing about the….
80’s was…….
Atari, Ronald Reagan, Top Gun, Fraggle Rock, Seinfeld, Cheers, slap bracelets, Star Wars, Care Bears, and me (I’m an 80’s baby)!!!
90’s was……
E-mail, the internet, portable CD players, Dances with Wolves, Braveheart, Full House, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Nirvana, Green Day, Smashing Pumpkins, Garth Brooks, Brooks & Dunn, Sega – Sonic the Hedgehog, Friends, flannel shirts, Fight Club, jelly shoes and hoodies!!!
00’s was…..
High school, undergraduate, and graduate school graduations, first 5.5 years in local government, living in Hawaii for a year, working with Management Partners, Inc. and traveling all over the country doing local government consulting, getting a job with the City of Dublin, bumping into and old high school flame and marrying him, the birth of our son, Ethan!!!
Last year was…..
The birth of our son, Jeremiah, purchase of our new house/land, new job with the City of New Albany!!! (yes, baby, new job, new house….I know)
Today is…
Sushi for lunch!!!!
Name three of your mentors and describe them in five words.
- Julia Novak – Smart, Ambitious, Honest, Connected, Travel-mom
- Dave Anderson – Inclusive, Fun-loving, Intelligent, Discerning, Energetic
- Craig Worstall – Wise, Logical, Inquisitive, Playful, Patient
What’s your least favorite thing about humanity?
Hatefulness
How can ELGL best contribute to the public sector?
By facilitating connections/dialogue between local government professionals , and those considering local government as a career, in an effort to advance knowledge sharing and recruit/retain good people in the local government profession.
Spring break or spring training? Which is better?
Neither, spring break is always cold and I’m not a huge baseball fan so I’m going with Indian summer.
Fast forward one year, what will factor into your decision on whether to renew your ELGL membership?
Price and benefit I have received over past year with the membership.
Give us two ideas for attracting and retaining talented individuals to the public sector.
- Talk to political science professors teaching undergraduate local government courses. Those students typically don’t have a set direction and are more open to looking at different career paths.
- Encourage members, regardless of their experience, to join and be active in their state or regional professional associations and in ICMA.
What questions should we have asked?
Why did you choose local government as a career?
I went into undergrad to study biology and become a surgeon. I found out quickly that I am NOT good at microbiology or chemistry (first D ever in my life!). So I decided maybe conservation science was better. At the same time I took a political science elective, state and local politics, and was hooked. My professor, Walter Huber, offered me an internship with the City of Zanesville, OH and I took it (eh, why not, play money right). I worked with low income residents on their CDBG applications, verifying that the issues they identified in their homes were accurate (bad wiring, leaky roof, etc.). It was a great feeling to sit at someone’s kitchen table, listen to them tell me about the issue and how they couldn’t afford to fix it and then turn around and help them get the grant money to do it. I lived in the community so it was more to me than just helping a resident, it was helping a neighbor. That’s when I decided to officially switch my major and I’ve been in local government ever since!
What one question you have about ELGL?
What are the plans, if any, to extend the ELGL network east?
Supplemental Reading